Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Settlement platform
Rochfort Demesne, County Westmeath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Rochfort Demesne
- County
- Westmeath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Latest-edition OS map
- Not indicated
- Coordinates
- 53.47193, -7.37931
- SMR number
- WM026-117----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1790 "Composite: Ireland." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
A cluster of rock platforms (WM026-115----/15001-) were identified by Karkov & Ruffing (1990-1, 108-110), on the E shoreline of Rochfort Bay on Lough Ennell. Listed as Rochfort Demesne 3 and described by O'Sullivan (2004, 97) as following; 'Located at east shore, on water’s edge in a small inlet on the south side of Rochfort Bay. The site would originally have been located c.5-10m from original shoreline. This is a small, oval rock platform (dims. 28m N-S x 24m E-W; H 1m) on a natural bedrock outcrop on a small peninsula in the lake water. It has an even profile, with large irregular limestone slabs (1.3m length, 1m width) scattered across its surface. There is a particularly large limestone block on its surface, possibly a glacial erratic? The nearest archaeological site is the crannóg at Goose Island (WM026-109----), 400m to north, a mound at Rochfort Demesne (WM026-048----), 550m to east. This site is a possible prehistoric or medieval rock platform, potentially associated with the early medieval crannóga at Goose Islands.'
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Aidan O'Sullivan
Date of upload: 29 March 2017
References
O'Sullivan, A. 2004 The social and ideological roles of crannogs in early medieval Ireland. Unpublished PhD thesis. Department of History, NUI Maynooth.
Karkov, C. and Ruffing, J. 1990-1 The crannógs of Lough Ennell: A computer survey. Ríocht na Midhe, 8, 3, 105-113.
Nearby in the register
- Settlement platformunder 1 mi
- Settlement platformunder 1 mi
- Settlement platformunder 1 mi
- Settlement platformunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.